Dear Dish-It: I'm Depressed

Dear Dish-It,

I think I'm going through depression. I'm scared to tell my parents. I've been eating a lot to make up for my emptiness. My sister went through the same thing at my age. I'm too scared to tell her even. I told my BFF I'm a little depressed, but not as depressed as I really am. And when my sister went through depression I promised myself that wouldn't happen to me. And now that it is, I don't know who to turn to. I'm confused, scared, and alone. In my own corner. I need advice.

true2myself

Dear true2myself,

It is SO important that you have reached out to me in your e-mail. Because I happen to care very much about what happens to you, even though we’ve never met! It’s really normal to feel sad sometimes or really overwhelmed by what you’re dealing with as a kid or teen. But there are things you can do about it.

Get to a counselor or therapist.

My best advice is for you to try and get to a trained professional who can help you deal more effectively with everything you have going on. You can ask your parents to connect you with a counselor or a therapist, and you don’t necessarily need to tell them why you want to see someone. You can just tell them that there’s a lot on your mind and you think that talking with someone could help. You can also find a counselor by talking to your school counselor or asking him or her for a referral to another counselor. Or try searching the Internet to find a professional counselor near you.

You’re not alone.

You need to know that you are not alone in your feelings of sadness, loneliness and depression. There are plenty of sites on the Internet about depression, and lots of people logging on to those sites each day, trying to reach out for help for themselves. But, as they all say themselves, these sites cannot substitute for the help of a trained mental health professional.

Remember, you took a brave step forward by just writing an e-mail to me. This means that you can take the next step — reaching out to someone close to you, so you can start to feel better.